


Strong Enough to Fall In Love. (With Me?)

by Quinton_Hawk



Series: Lily Flowers & Crescent Moons. [1]
Category: Cinderella Phenomenon (Visual Novel)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fear of Rejection, Fritz is an idiot in love, Fritz is an undercover Yandere sometimes, Fritz misses his Mom, Genaro Letting Lucette down, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Hildyr's A+ parenting, Hurt, Loss of Parent(s), Lucette hates Herself, Lucette misses her Mom, Pining, Rod hates Lucette, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Self-Worth Issues, The is a prelude to my story "Lily Flowers & Crescent Moons", Wishful Thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-10-25 17:34:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20728109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinton_Hawk/pseuds/Quinton_Hawk
Summary: She refuses to let her own self-fulfilling prophesy be her downfall. She is stronger than that.He refuses to admit that the dangers he cannot face are the ones that linger in the mirror. He is stronger than that.At least, that's what they tell themselves. Even if they are not sure if they are strong enough for what comes next.(A knight and a Princess. My, my... what a scandal. Especially when both are cursed by more than witches.)(Prelude to "Lily Flowers & Crescent Moons.")





	1. The Light that Casts Shadows.

Lucette was never the type of person who would – or could – let anyone see the sides of her that weren’t perfected by years of practiced etiquette. She could never let anyone look past the curtain of decorum that she painstakingly put up every day. No matter how awful things seemed to be of how much worse they could get, she continued to put on the charade for all to see that _she was stronger_ than to let it overcome her.

She would shout it from Angielle’s rooftops if she had to; even if it felt like she could no longer do so much as draw in a breath on her own she would do all she could – all she had to do – to keep up exactly what was expected of her.

That’s the responsibility of royalty after all, isn’t it?

Sometimes she wished it wasn’t. Then subtly that “sometimes” turned into “many times”, and then that “many times” doubled over at every turn she took. At the point she was at now, it all just seemed tedious.

Or, worse yet, _meaningless_.

Though, at the same time it was just what she was used to. Without it she felt defenseless.

This routine was what she could cling to when she felt like she was losing track of the weeks that went by. That’s what mother would want her to do, right?

The cycle stayed the same. Wake up, wash away the anxieties of another night, perfect your appearance, keep your composure and never let anyone see you slip. Mother would not have wanted that. Though, now, mother isn’t here to tell her that herself anymore.

Spend the restless night through until the sun finally rose to ease away the all-encompassing darkness. It was who she was meant to be. She would be as strong as mother one day.

Or at least, that’s what she told herself as she looked into the mirror and stared down her own reflection.

That’s what she tells herself as she looks far too deep into her golden eyes that look just a little too much like her father’s.

Ah, and that’s what she _will_ tell herself as she walks through the garden maze that has been left unattended for the coming four years. Per her father’s decree, of course.

There were things that changed despite the never-ending patterns. All of the wrong things seemed to change, in Lucette’s opinion. The different paths of the maze had grown together with the same ugly thorns that she had felt growing inside herself these past four years, and now there was only one path left. That path lead to a small area away from the other gardens. It was a peaceful little place that Lucette felt she could clear her head in when her step-sister Emelaigne, or the other members of her newfound step-family, were being particularly insufferable.

There was one presence that she never felt pressured around, though. There was one person that she even _invited_ into this hideaway of hers, much to even her own surprise.

That person was her personal knight. Fritzgerald Leverton. Though Fritz would be the first to tell you that he was not the most graceful person, he knows how to read people well and a sword was a familiar weight in his hands. He may be a bit forgetful, and sometimes he can stumble over his words, but in the end, he knew how to talk to her. There was no fancy trick to it, he found that you just had to be truthful.

He knew not long after she first became his charge that she was the type of person whom liked quiet company, someone that could listen; not to her, but to the silence. Company that could be content looking at the flowers in the summer, or listening to the wind rustling the leaves in autumn. She wasn’t the type to come right out and tell someone what was on their mind unless it was directly inconveniencing her, but she never had a single moment where she would lie to you just to spare your feelings, or lie to herself to spare her own. She was honest.

Fritz could sympathize when people spoke of her so irately, and he understood the hostility when they called her Ice Princess, but he also knew that they would do no such thing if they knew what he did now. If they knew what was just underneath the abrasive surface, what was just a few small steps beyond the walls she had put up.

_If only they knew that she was not her mother. _

He knew for a fact that she wasn’t cruel. Some of her actions could come across that way, but her intentions bore no hint of that brutality. He knew that she could even be a kind and loving person not so far past the curtain. He just wished he could get her to realize that he wasn’t going to hurt her. Hurting her was the last thing he would ever consider. His entire job was to protect her!

It was all entirely innocent. He is a knight. It is his job to look after his charge… _right? _

It went further than that, though. He knew it somewhere deep down even though he doesn’t allow himself to think about it. As soon as thoughts of an… odd nature, even scarcely ebbed their way to the surface, he shoved that down as a far as he could. Darker things like that should not see the light of day.

Or at least, that’s what he told himself as he stood in the grass watching over her as she read a book in the garden.

That’s what he tells himself as he watches the way her eyes soften ever so slightly and seem to sparkle in the sun as she scans the pages.

Oh, and that’s what he _will_ tell himself at those times that he finds himself smiling her way when she’s not looking, wondering what’s on her mind.

The last thing he needed was to have Lucette feel that he had some sort of ulterior motives to his kindness towards her. He wanted to tell her sometimes that he had every intention of being there for her, but it always seemed to come out in the form of telling her that he will protect her as her knight.

But then again… that’s what it is.

_So why does it never feel like the right words? _

She would get defensive, then.

He hated it when she pushed him away but he knows that it’s all because she’s been hurt badly enough to make her uninterested in trusting people. She really feels that it will always end in hurt.

And that kills him.

He knows the reason. He knows why. He knows that it isn’t her fault.

Knows that _she_ was the one that made her think that being alone was better. Safer. Easier.

Knows that _he_ was the one that left her alone long enough that she was accustomed to it.

She would tell him that his job is to protect her from danger, not to be her friend. He would think it was an irony. He wanted to protect her not only from outside danger… he wanted to protect her from herself. He knew that out of all things, what hurt her the most was her own mind making every harsh word spoken to her repeat.

He had pitied her at first… When he first met her, he pitied her for her situation. He grew up in a state where he was also not close to his father… He also lost his mother at a young age as she did. He could relate to her in that way, but he pitied her because at least he had someone. He had friends, and other people from knight training. He had relatives.

He was loved by people around him when all she received was hate from people that did not even know her. He had the hope that came with being able to make his future whatever he wanted it to be. He could love and be loved in return.

The Princess had none of this… she was alone. Fully, completely, and truly alone.

Her love was starkly rejected before she even gave it. She was abandoned.

Fritz couldn’t imagine the pain of that loneliness. He couldn’t imagine how empty and cold the nights were, how muted the colors must have been in her eyes. He couldn’t imagine the monochrome that she saw where he has always seen vivid and flashing color. He grew to hate himself for that pity.

He looked at her and all he saw was the strength that she had, to go on completely untarnished by the bitter hand she had been dealt. All he could do was look in awe at how she carried herself all on her own, how she held her head high and looked forward, no matter how harsh the lights ahead were or how empty the future seemed.

When he saw that in her clearer than he had ever seen it, he looked back on how he lamented for her and hated himself for it. She didn’t want his pity. That was why she had pushed him away… He compensated for it by trying to read her even better. He didn’t just want to know what to do and what not to do, he wanted to _understand_ her.

He wanted to know what drove her to continue on without a second thought. So, he would spend his time with her.

_Just as her knight_, he reminds himself.

He would walk with her through the library as her fingers gracefully trailed over the spines of book after book until she chose one to her liking.

He would walk with her to the gardens and keep watch over her while she read.

He would talk to her when he felt she might like to; she never seemed to get upset at the intrusion.

Then there were times when he would hear other people speak of her… It would get on his nerves a little when the words were harsh, but it was strange to hear Emelaigne speak of her.

Emelaigne wanted to be friends with Lucette – desperately so. She had tried time and time again to speak to her, and Fritz felt bad that the attempts had always failed. He would have liked to see Lucette find a good friend in Emelaigne, it might have helped her open up.

At the same time, it… bothered him, how Emelaigne refused to give Lucette the space that she wanted. The space that at this point, she _demanded_. He knows Emelaigne has the best intentions, so it’s difficult to tell her that Lucette just isn’t interested.

This particular day, he had run into her and he was listening to Emelaigne lament on the matter.

“Oh, Fritz… I just wish I could get her to give it a chance. Just once I wish she would hear me out… You know?”

He knew. She had just come back from trying to speak to Lucette in the library while she was searching for a book. It had gone particularly badly this time around, (that statement was saying something, considering that not even one of their encounters had gone well, in Fritz’ opinion) Emelaigne had taken the book out of Lucette’s hands and had said she would read it to her.

Lucette liked her time to read alone. She liked the silence of it while being able to submerse herself in the world of fiction. She didn’t like the idea of Emelaigne wasting her time and intruding into her life with something as silly as someone reading to her and had made that very clear, telling her for the hundredth time to leave her be and that they were not sisters, so she should stop acting like they are.

Fritz nods sympathetically and Emelaigne sighs.

“I…I didn’t mean to upset her… I really shouldn’t have grabbed the book away from her, should I? I think I might have even given her a paper cut, too, just to make things worse... Oh, what should I do? I feel like I somehow just keep messing things up with her no matter how hard I try!” She pouts, looking down at her shoes.

Just as Fritz is about to reply in an attempt to comfort the distraught Princess, Prince Rod comes around the corner and interrupts.

“You aren’t messing things up with her, Em. She just isn’t a good person; you should stop wasting your time with this. She is as rude and unlikable as one person can manage to be.”

_ Oh. _

Fritz understood Rod’s hostility, but he just didn’t like how harsh he could be.

His heart is in the right place, though… It’s just that he cares very much for his sister and is going to extremes to get her to give up on her search for Lucette’s friendship since it’s making her sad to get rejected repeatedly like this.

Lucette doesn’t much know about Rod’s constant talk about her, and even mentioned once that at least Rod knew how to stay quiet. Fritz wasn’t exactly sure how to tell her, and in the end, decided not to say anything.

The Princess already has enough problems without adding Rod’s hostility to it.

Conversations like these happened again and again… He would go back to the Princess and she would either comment once on her step-sister’s inability to follow so much as one order, or be silent for the rest of the evening. Her frown would deepen and the silence would stretch long and unbroken as Emelaigne came to her to apologize. Things like these never ended well and it just seemed to get worse each time.

Lucette’s patience would run thin sometimes, but she never directly snapped at anyone or yelled. Her voice was always steady and under control.

Sometimes people would comment on that, too.

He would hear whispers in the halls, and people would even come up and talk about it right in front of him.

_“She always talks the same way. It’s like she isn’t even bloody alive.” _

_“When she talks, it’s always so deadpan. I think it’s unnerving.” _

_“That look on her face… She looks at us like we’re bugs. They ought to just put Princess Emelaigne on the throne… She’s so sweet and kind, unlike a certain Ice Princess” _

_“Well we just ought to hope that there’s never a day where she is the Ice Queen, then.” _

He wanted to tell them that they just didn’t know the real her, but he doubted it would make a difference. The people were entitled to their anger… He just wished they wouldn’t direct it at a girl who already had to have shields up towards the inside and the outside.

What her mother did was _not_ her fault. The past had no bearing on who she was as a person.

When Fritz looks back, he can see that he isn’t really like either of his parents. Fritz wasn’t like his father at all, and as for his mother… Well, he didn’t like to think about it.

Time passed by in an odd sort of fashion. In the face of training, guarding Lucette, and the night shifts between, days seemed to bleed together. Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to be unhappy with it.

For Lucette, the story was different. Sometimes the days passed slowly, and others, they would pass in a way that left her wondering if they ever even happened at all. Even so, she would continue with an ironclad will.

For both, the hours turned into days, the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into a month that passed without much to speak of.

Then there was the event of a royal ball.

The princess had left early. (No doubt of her own request; not that he blamed her, considering the way the people here treat her).

Rather than follow after her and go home once she was safe in her room, Fritz was requested to stay to help guard the ballroom unofficially, as he was already marked as a guest. As it was a request from the King, Fritz of course accepted.

Fritz was surprised he was requested at all outside of being the Princess’ personal guard, but it seemed that since Alcaster is the King’s royal adviser, he was invited as well.

He kept up light conversation with Princess Emelaigne, whom had come up to talk to him for a short while. While it was pleasant, he couldn’t help but worry about Lucette. He couldn’t get the thought out of his head that she must be upset.

Sometimes, during his night shifts, he would hear the princess talking to her favorite doll. Delora.

He would only catch small sentences, but he still knew that she disliked being by herself in her room at night, despite that being one of the only places she could be alone.

He also found himself missing her company.

The other guests were nice to talk to in their own rights, but he missed the act of reading between the lines when talking to the Princess. Subtle implication that no one else could pick up had become crystal clear to him throughout the years. At this point, he felt that he could read her expression from twenty yards off.

She didn’t entertain people’s inane chitchat (another reason he assumed she left), and while most people saw it as standoffish, he knew that the reality was that her not making small talk meant that everything she said meant something. Every word was genuine; and she didn’t lie, either. If she did not want to tell you something, she would just say she didn’t want to talk about it. She never resorted to poor excuses or lies.

He understood that she could be brutally honest, but she never was cruel… He could say that he genuinely liked her a lot.

So, why did those words never seem like _enough_? He was afraid to touch on the idea of… deeper feelings for her. He never dwelled on it long enough to give it enough thought to be trouble, since he didn’t want to think of what that could mean.

But… Dare he to wish or hope?

Those desires were dark ones, and they were best left out of this. Being put on the backburner of his mind was simply not enough at this point, so he threw them as far into the back of his mind as he could. He willed them to disappear into the darkness.

He was snapped back to reality by Emelaigne asking him about the most recent Battle Royale of Angielle’s knights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this.   
This is a prelude to my story "Lily Flowers & Crescent Moons", which i am currently working on.
> 
> I was going to start here, but it would make it unreasonably long to do that, so i'm going to end up starting at the point of Lucette confronting her mother.
> 
> If you wanna check it out, hang tight and wait a bit. I'm working on getting the first part out.
> 
> (Also Fritz is precious and deserves love, okay?)


	2. (Don't) Forgive Me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give a little bit of insight on Fritz's life, since the poor guy get's overshadowed a lot by  
'Mr. Tall Dark and Trust Issues.'  


Fritz had thought that life was only complicated when you looked at it for too long, or if you thought about it too much.

He was really starting to think he was wrong.

Fritz wasn’t one to think things to death. He usually took things as they were and burned bridges once he’d crossed them, but lately things had taken a more… difficult turn.

It had all started with an order he had received from the King. Princess Lucette was to go out to town with her step-siblings and he was to accompany them to ensure their safety.

Fritz would of course happily do so, but he knew right from the time that he had heard the news that something would go wrong on this trip. In a nutshell, you’re putting three people who dislike each other into one carriage for a day.

I mean, there’s no way this could _not_ go badly.

He had never before in his life been this upset to be right.

Their trip to town was, surprisingly, uneventful at first. That was until Emelaigne said that they should visit one of her favorite toy shops that a friend of hers worked at.

Fritz had thought a trip to a toy shop could go well. After all, the princess loved dolls and there were bound to be a lot of them at the store. Maybe it could serve to cheer her up? He hoped so.

The Princess looked uncomfortable and had a firm frown fixed on her face since the moment they had left the palace… Fritz wished there was something he could do or say to help Lucette be more comfortable, but in the end, he had ended up saying the same thing he always had.

He side-stepped to be a little closer to Lucette to speak with her.

“There’s no need to be so tense, Princess. I would never let anything happen to you.” He says, beaming at her, trying his best to ease her mind a bit. “Your only job is to just enjoy yourself.”

There was a pause while Lucette seems to consider his words. She sighs and turns away from him while crossing her arms.

“…You ask the impossible of me.”

Fritz’ smile falls for a moment, before he smiles sadly at Lucette. Things could still get better! He had to be an optimist about this. She would be able to tell if he was upset, right?

Still though, she doesn’t turn back to him for a while. She lifts her gaze from the scuffed hardwood floor to the old oak shelves lined with dolls, looking at them curiously.

Emelaigne spins around and looks like she’s about to say something to Lucette, but stops, turning her head to the side quizzically. She follows Lucette’s line of sight to the dolls, and suddenly she smiles and her eyes light up as if she has a plan.

Fritz can only hope that whatever her idea is won’t upset Lucette further, because if that were the case, she might just call off this trip altogether.

He’s surprised when he’s dragged into a conversation with the woman at the desk. Princess Emelaigne’s friend, Viorica. Princess Emelaigne had been introducing people, and just after she had finished introducing Lucette, it seems it was time for his own introduction.

“A-ah… and this is Sir Fritzgerald, Sir Alcaster’s son.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Viorica looks over at Fritz and suddenly her eyes light up in recognition. She looks back and forth between Emelaigne and Fritz with a lively smile on her face. “Oh, You’re Sir Fritzgerald? You really are as handsome as Emelaigne described in her letters!”

Fritz is taken off guard for a moment. He can’t come up with much of a response to give, much to his chagrin, and just ends up blushing and scratching the back of his neck.

Emelaigne on the other hand, flies into a small panic.

Perhaps… he had misheard her? “I, Uh… I’m sorry?” He questions, smiling awkwardly.

“P-Please don’t mind her, Sir Fritzgerald!” Emelaigne stutters, blushing furiously.

Viorica gasps lightly and takes a step back as if realizing something. Throwing a repentant look to the Princess, she apologizes. “I’m sorry, Emelaigne!”

“…Right” Fritz fidgets slightly. He figures that he probably shouldn’t have heard whatever all _that_ was, so he settles for just dismissing the matter while he could.

Emelaigne laughs awkwardly and returns to her conversation with Viorica.

Lucette is just annoyed with the entire matter. She thought it was childish. “I would prefer we finish this errand as soon as possible.” She declares, her voice laced in impatience. She doesn’t have the time to waste on something like this.

Fritz looks over at Lucette dejectedly. He didn’t know what else he had expected… But, one day she’ll be ruling over Angielle, and what happens then if she still won’t go talk to the people? What if they still misjudge her, even when she’s Queen? He just wished she felt more at home here.

But then again, home is where the heart is… and her heart _certainly_ isn’t with these people. Not that he could blame that on her, of course. If the people would just give her a chance to prove herself, he's sure that they would see that they were wrong.

Somewhere behind the mask of indifference and her current exasperation, Fritz could see that she felt trapped in here. It was odd… to feel like one was trapped _outside_ rather than inside.

It was like seeing a reverse of a fairy tale. One where the Princess _wanted_ to be trapped in the tower and had gotten upset when the knight had taken her away from her abuser.

_She really hates it here…_

He couldn’t say that it wasn’t justified, considering how people reacted to her presence, but still he had hoped that she would see the good in it.

On the other hand, he would feel trapped too if he were her. He tried to put himself in her shoes as often as he could, as to better understand her.

“Princess…” He calls softly. He wants to get through to her and to have her realize that things weren’t as bleak as they seemed anymore. The war was over, and things had gone back to being colorful again.

At least, for the rest of the world, it had… Did she still see the same thousand shades of grey that everyone had seen during the great war?

If she does… She’s still here anyway. She’s been strong enough to face it even though she doesn’t know _why_ this is happening to her. In her eyes there was no explanation for any of this, but she still carried on without a second thought.

He was starting to think that all the pain that people had been released from four years ago was not actually gone. All of it was just shifted onto Lucette’s shoulders.

Fritz didn’t know if he had that type of will power in him… Though, if he had to in order to be able to protect the Princess, he would gladly try.

\-------------

Soon enough, they were on their way back to the carriage. Lucette couldn’t be more ready to be out of this place and back in her home. Where she _belonged_.

Where she wasn’t constantly glared at and judged by a kingdom-wide jury that is convinced she’s guilty of a crime that never took place.

_How could they like this place so much? It’s dreadful. I want to go back to palace._

She feels stifled here, like she can hardly breathe. It’s an odd feeling in her throat that feels like a strong hand with a loose wrist pressed on her neck. Just enough to be distressing and make her own pulse ring in her ears, but not enough to make her panic.

This feeling of dread lingers in the back of her mind like a bad omen that she doesn't understand yet. It’s counting her heartbeats and telling her it’s too fast.

One breath in. One breath out.

She repeats it until she thinks everything will be alright, so long as she holds her head high. She’s the Crown Princess of Angielle, people ought to respect her. She did nothing wrong, whatever these people are thinking is their own problem.

_Leaving the palace was a mistake. _The thought is sudden and unpleasant, but true.

_They’re staring at you. _Her eyes dart from face to face in the crowd and she sees that they really are.

_They hate you._ She tries to brush the thoughts away.

** _They want you gone._ **

She closes her eyes and grits her teeth until they feel like they could crack one another. Her fingernails dig so deep into her palm that she wouldn't be surprised if she was bleeding.

“I’m sure that the townsfolk are just surprised to see you after so many years!” Emelaigne’s voice is an unwanted yet timely escape from her thoughts.

“…Right” She replies, wishing Emelaigne would stop trying to speak with her. She honestly couldn’t decide what was worse – the townspeople, or her step-sister’s unbearable company.

She wouldn’t even _be here_ if it weren’t for her. Couldn’t she have just left her alone, for once? She had been blaming the King all of this time, but really, Emelaigne was the one that had manipulated him into thinking he had the right to be so involved in her life after not being a part of it for seventeen years.

Well, her and her mother, Ophelia. The baker. She is equally as insufferable as her daughter.

But insufferable doesn’t even begin to describe… _This._

There was a period of time where things settled down after that, aside from a performance by a child magician. Waltz.

It was strange how he had acted around Lucette. It was like he expected her to do something… It wasn’t worth troubling herself over, she decided. She’d never see him again anyway since she had no intention of coming here again if she could help it.

Emelaigne talked up the town as if it were a second heaven for some time, all the while Lucette contradicting it at every move. Frankly, Lucette was getting rather tired of hearing this ridiculous psychobabble from quite literally everyone.

Even Fritz seemed to be taking their side.

It was as if everyone thought _she_ was in the wrong for disliking this place despite how awful it was for her to be out of the palace.

On top of that, Emelaigne actually had the audacity to look hurt when she had said she didn’t like this place.

Lucette’s mask of indifference was starting to chip at its edges. Why won’t she just stop this? It isn’t getting her anywhere. What did Emelaigne want from her so badly that she was willing to put them both through this god-awful outing?

People claim that Emelaigne is so kind and considerate. If that is so, why would she not stop pestering her at every single turn? Doesn’t she see that it’s doing more harm than good?

_Of course not_. Lucette notes irately. _Oh, of course she doesn’t know. She’s unobservant. She wouldn’t see resentment if it were to slap her across her face._

“I know you didn’t want to come, but you still tagged along!” Emelaigne starts, walking alongside Lucette with an energetic bounce in her step. “That means a lot to me, so thank you.” She smiles brightly, completely unaware of the storm brewing inside Lucette’s mind.

_Stop it._

Fritz was lagging slightly behind Emelaigne and Lucette with Rod. He was hoping that this conversation would turn out well despite the current theme of the evening, but judging by the growing irritation in Lucette’s eyes, he knew he was wrong.

Should he… step in? Would she be upset if he were to? He didn’t want to upset her today of all days. She’s already having a hard-enough time without him throwing himself into the situation. But, still… He should at least know how it’s going. He _is _her knight, after all.

He walks up a little closer, and ends up hearing the tail end of their conversation.

“I do not want or need your friendship.”

…

_Oh no._

“No matter how you act around me we are not, and never will be, sisters. I’d take care to remember that if I were you.”

Emelaigne sounds meek, and her voice shakes as if she’s about to cry. “But I…”

Before Fritz can think of what to do, Rod has already taken it upon himself.

He reaches out and takes Lucette by the wrist harshly, pulling her away from his sister.

Fritz’s gut reaction is to put a stop this. Something in the back of his mind screams at him to stop Rod. There’s a low growl somewhere in his head that tips him off balance.

_Get your hands off her. **Now**._

He shakes his head, momentarily disoriented. He presses a hand to his forehead.

Where did _that_ come from?

When he gets his wits about him, he hears Lucette commanding Rod to let her go. Her voice sounds upset in a different way now. She sounds threatened, more hostile than he’s heard her before.

“Both of you ought to stay away from me.” She declares, wrenching Rod’s hand off her arm. There’s something in her eyes that looks like tangled thorns. Equally as sharp towards the inside as the outside.

She looks over at the people staring at the scene.

_They’re watching you._

It is then that she realizes that this voice in her mind sounds so much like her mother’s, yet not at all. It sounds colder than she had ever heard it. That was not the voice of her loving mother.

So why did it sound like her?

Can she not even remember what her voice sounded like anymore?

_They see your weakness. They’re disgusted with you. They hate you. _

_Make. Them. **Stop**._

There’s something else in their looks. Fear. Why? What did she do to deserve this?

All of it makes her want to get away. Get up, out, and leave. She wants to go home.

Fritz sees her begin to walk away. He has to stop her, it’s dangerous for her to be by herself!

“Princess, wait–” He starts, taking a step forward.

“Don’t follow me.” He stops dead in his tracks, shocked at the way she turns momentarily to glare at the three of them. He recognizes the emotion in the undertones of her voice. Pain.

“Princess!” He calls out, trying to get her to understand that staying here is for her own safety.

He knows that she already understands that it’s dangerous, and it pains him to know that she just doesn’t care.

The moment it registers that she has slipped out of his sight, alarm bells go off in his head. Why is he just standing there? She’s in danger!

He quickly tells Princess Emelaigne and Prince Rod to stay by the carriage where they are safe and starts searching through the crowd.

Where is she? _Where is she?_

He looks through the sea of people in the town square, but doesn’t see hide nor hare of the Princess. He recalls that she was wearing a blue and white cloak since she didn’t want to show her face and he looks for any trace of blue.

He thinks he sees a momentary flash of blue so he runs over to where he saw it, only to find that it was a woman in a white and blue dress with light pink hair. He turns away and just as he looks around the crowd for any other signs, he hears someone shout above the clamor.

He listens to it, hoping desperately that it’s the Princess.

“Fait, get over here, you’ve got to see this.” The woman in the blue dress perks up and walks off toward someone else.

Damn it.

He’s starting to get more frantic now. Where could she be? She was here just a moment ago and she couldn’t have gotten that far. She’s out there by herself and she’s not paying attention, what if she–

Suddenly he sees her. She’s walking slowly away from two women, glaring down at the ground. Relief washes over him as he runs over to her.

_Thank the Gods, she’s okay. _

“There you are!” He exclaims, looking over the Princess to make sure she isn’t wounded. All that’s on his mind is just to make sure she’s back where she wants to be, and that she’s safe. Happy.

_Why did the King send her out here?_

“Princess, you must come back with me. It is getting too late for you to remain outside.” She’s out in the open. It’s unsafe. When she doesn’t respond, he starts to worry again.

“Princess, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

The unspoken implication lies under the question.

_Did I really fail you?_

She brushes off the question. “No need to make a fuss, let’s return to the palace.” She starts walking towards the carriage, refusing to look at anyone. Even him.

\----------------

On the carriage ride back, all he could think about was the fact that he had almost let her put herself in danger. No, he _had_ let her put herself in danger. She was out in the open, anything could have happened.

He looks over at Lucette. She’s looking out the window with an unreadable expression on her face. Her golden eyes are looking at the scenery, but he can tell that she isn’t really seeing it. She’s somewhere trapped in her mind, lost in her thoughts.

She doesn’t _deserve_ to be hurt like this. It just isn’t fair… And to top it all off, he himself had still let her be in danger.

He had appreciated it when she had overlooked his mistakes when he was new to the job, but he’s been working as her knight for four years now, he should know better.

Lucette sighs gently, just loud enough for him to hear. She closes her eyes for a moment, and when she opens them, he can tell that she’s really back with him.

He pulls his gaze away from her and takes a deep breath.

He can never let this happen again. Never. He can’t fail her again.


End file.
